


Reminder, you are loved

by Alyzah_x769



Category: AB6IX (Band)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-05
Updated: 2019-06-05
Packaged: 2020-04-08 08:15:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19103227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alyzah_x769/pseuds/Alyzah_x769
Summary: In which Woong isn't feeling well, the burden of being a new member catches up and past memories plague him. Thankfully, his members are there to remind him he is loved<3





	Reminder, you are loved

**Author's Note:**

> Fluff and comfort :D Enjoy!

‘It’s freezing in here.’ That was what Woong thought for the umpteenth time that day, as the sound of Woojin’s voice droned on in his head. Woong was trying, he really was, willing himself to focus on the instructions Woojin was giving with regards to their dance moves for their debute song, Breathe. He forced his body to cooperate, attempting to copy Woojin’s actions. From the mirror (which by now was partially fogged up from the long hours of practice), he could make out Daehwi laughing hysterically on the right, hitting Youngmin playfully on the shoulder, to which he received a sigh in returned while trying to calm their ever hyper maknae down. Woong had no idea what they were laughing about, but he couldn’t help but smile. ‘They sure look happy,’ he thought.

“Are you alright?” Donghyun’s voice broke Woong out of his reverie, as he turned towards the sound of the voice on his left. Donghyun gave Woong a smile, “The dance is hard isn’t it, hyung?” he stated sympathetically. 

“Ah no, it’s fine, Donghyun-ah.” Woong replied, before giggling lightly. “It’s just really cold in here.” 

“Cold? Do you want me to turn up the AC?” Donghyun asked, and Woong could sense the slight worry in his voice. 

“No, no. I’m okay, don’t worry about it.” 

“Are you sure ---”

“Focus, focus guys.” Woojin’s voice broke their conversation, as he shot Donghyun and Woong a look, before glaring at Daehwi who has yet to stop laughing, and a helpless Youngmin by his side. “Let’s start from the top.”

“Let’s get back to practice.” Woong replied. The conversation was promptly dropped as the music began playing.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

“Good job guys, let’s stop here for today.”

“Gah, I’m tired.”

“Should we go grab dinner?”

Harsh breaths and conversations filled the air, as Woong sat on the floor while trying to regain his breathing. Sweat matted his hair and trickled down his forehead. Was it him or did someone lower the room temperature again? ‘It’s cold.’ He thought, as he pulled his hoodie closer to his body and wrapped his arms around himself, in attempts to keep warm.

The action didn’t go unnoticed by their leader, Youngmin, who was observing Woong from afar. It’s true that they were only 2 years apart, and Woong’s training period was arguably far longer than his so it was fair enough to assume that Woong was capable of taking care of himself.

But it was also fair enough to assume that one wouldn’t be cold after 8hrs of non-stop dance practice. The exertion from the dance would be enough to make anyone warm, even hot, in an airconditioned practice room. 

‘Something’s not right.’ Youngmin thought, as he watched Woong shiver and space out, while the rest of his members dragged themselves off the floor and gathered their things. Truth be told, Youngmin was subtly watching out for Woong. He was their newest member after all, and while the pressure on all of them was great, he knew it would be much worse on Woong.

“Woong-ah, are you alright ---”

“Youngminnie-hyung, buy us dinner! Leader-nim, we did so well today, reward us with dinner!” Before Youngmin could ask after Woong, Daehwi came running towards him, full of aegyo, in attempts to convince Youngmin to pay for dinner.

“Aish, this kid.” Youngmin sighed, before tackling Daehwi. Ultimately, Youngmin knew he would relent, internally crying over his empty wallet.

“Yayyyy Leader-nim’s buying dinnerrrrr~”

“How does this kid even have so much energy left?” Donghyun laughed, and Woojin just shrugged in response.

“Ah, hyung, I won’t join you guys today.” Everyone’s attention turned to Woong, who suddenly felt a little self-conscious. He had just gotten himself off the floor, swaying a little on his feet, but promptly regaining his balance. The action went by unnoticed by his members, all except Youngmin, who frowned. “I have some moves I want to run through, so I’ll stay back to practice a little more.”

“Wah, really, hyung you’re super ruthless to yourself you know. We just practiced for 8hrs straight. Aren’t you tired?” Daehwi replied, amazed.

“Woong-ah, you need to eat too.” Donghyun responded.

“Ah don’t worry, I’m not really hungry and I ate a full lunch so I’m good.” Woong replied with his signature eye smile. It was partially a lie, he knew. Truthfully, he hadn’t eaten more than an energy bar for lunch, but he didn’t have any appetite anyways. It was a white lie; they didn’t need to know or worry about it, he convinced himself. 

“Do you need help? I could stay with you.” Woojin offered.

“It’s alright, Woojin-ah. I just need to practice on my own. You guys go on ahead for dinner. I’ll meet you back at the dorms later.” 

The 4 of them were hesitant, but with one more smile and reassurance from Woong, Daehwi, Donghyun and Woojin left. Youngmin was about to leave, before he turned back towards Woong. “Woong-ah.”

“Hm?” Woong was about to turn on the music when he heard Youngmin.

“You’re doing a good job, you know that right? Don’t give yourself too much pressure.” 

Woong blinked, before the corners of his lips lifted into a smile. “Thanks, hyung.” 

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

“Thank you Leader-nim~” Woojin and Daehwi jokingly teased, as the 4th plate of fried chicken was served on the table. He took a drumstick and waved it in the air.

“Yeah, yeah, just eat.” Youngmin helplessly replied. “Sighs there goes my money.” Which earned him a pat on the back by Donghyun.

“It’s sad Woong-hyung didn’t join us, this spicy chicken is delicious~” Daehwi said in between mouthfuls of half-chewed chicken. 

“Don’t talk with your mouth full.” Donghyun chided, though he still smiled fondly at Daehwi. “Besides, Woong-hyung doesn’t like spicy stuff.”

“Don’t you think something’s off with him?”

Youngmin’s tentative question sent 3 pairs of eyes turning towards him. “I mean, after practice I saw him shivering and looking dazed on the floor. I was wondering if there was something wrong, and if any of you know anything about it.” 

“He did tell me he was cold earlier.” Donghyun said.

“Cold?”

“But hyung, there’s no way you could be cold after an 8hr practice, that’s ridiculous!” Daehwi exclaimed.

“That’s the point, Daehwi-ah.”

“He was spaced out during practice,” Woojin added. “Woong-hyung never spaces out during practice.”

“Did anyone even see him eat earlier during lunch?”

The atmosphere suddenly turned into one full of worry. 

“Let me give him a call.” Youngmin said resolutely.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

“I wanna breath, just set me free.” 

‘Try again.’ Woong shook his head.

“I wanna breath, just set me free.” 

‘Again.’ 

“I wanna breath, just set ---” A coughing fit took over Woong as he doubled over, trying to clear his lungs and regain his composure.

“Useless.” Woong muttered, as he picked himself up and continued with his practice. Woong was never a pessimistic person, but as the clock struck 11pm, his bones ached with exertion, throat hoarse from hours of practice and exhaustion was setting in, he couldn’t stop the negative thoughts from wreaking havoc his brain. ‘You’re going to pull the entire group down if you don’t improve. If you can’t sing, if you can’t dance, then what exactly is the point of you?”

‘Try again.’

“This moment with you, you’re like a blue ocean.” Woong sang into the microphone. “While you’re looking at the sunset. Good good time—urgh”

The microphone fell out of his hands, as he tripped over one of his moves, landing on his side with a thud. The feedback from the microphone screeched across the practice room, making Woong instinctively cover his ears and curl in on himself. 

His head was pounding, his muscles and feet ache and his voice was raw. Was it always this cold in the practice room? He remembered turning off the AC earlier though? So why was it freezing?

The cold dance floor felt good against his skin, despite everything, and a part of him wished he’d never have to get up.

But his thoughts had other plans. 

‘It’s amazing how you can trip over your own two feet. Get up, keep practicing, you’re really being pathetic right now.’

Woong forced himself to sit up, the room spinning as he blinked his surroundings back into focus. 

‘If you don’t continue practicing you know what will happen.’

Before he could stop himself from thinking.

‘All of them will leave. Youngmin, Donghyun, Woojin, Daehwi. You’ll be alone. They’ll kick you out of Brand New Music and AB6IX, just like they had in Woolim, JYP, YG. You’ll be alone.’

‘You’ll always be alone.’

The words stung, it hurt. Woong slumped against the wall, pulling his feet close to him as he balled himself up. He willed himself not to cry, his eyes scrunched up, but as the first batch of tears hit and trickled down his cheeks, he couldn’t stop the tears from falling. The only thing he could do was to keep quiet, be silent and not let anyone know. Just as he had for the past 6 years.

Was it possible to feel so much pain? He knew he didn’t hurt himself when he fell so why did his heart hurt so much. Not to mention was it always this cold? Cold, cold, cold.

His mind seemed to quieten down, as his thoughts drifted away. Woong felt his eyes slowly closing, tears escaping from the corners of his eyes as he was slowly lulled into a dreamless sleep.

Not far away, his phone on vibrate buzzed continuously, left unanswered.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

“He’s not picking up.” Youngmin sighed, as he hung up the phone for the 5th time.

“Could something have happened?” Donghyun asked.

“We should go back to find him. Like immediately, now, asap, pronto.” Daehwi emphasised, banging his hands on the table and getting up, before promptly being pull back to his seat by Woojin.

“Calm down, finish up your dinner first.” Youngmin said sternly, his leader mood slowly coming forth. “Woojin, could you go to the counter and order a plate of tteboki to go? Less spicy, sweet.” 

Woojin nodded, before promptly standing up to go order. 

“Do you think Woong-hyung is fine?” Donghyun whispered worriedly to Youngmin.

“I really hope so.” Youngmin replied, though deep down, he had a feeling it was far from so.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~  
The leader’s instincts are always right.

The first thing Youngmin, Donghyun, Woojin and Daehwi noticed when they returned to their practice room was how hot it was. The lights were on, mirrors were completely fogged up by now, the entire place felt like a sauna. Someone (they obviously knew who it was) had turned off the AC; the entire room felt stuffy and warm.

The second thing they realised had them stop in their tracks. At the corner of their practice room, Woong was crouched on the floor, his legs pulled against his chest and head resting on his knees. He appeared to be fast asleep, and that fact alone was enough to worry the four of them.

Because the Woong they know hardly ever takes breaks during practices, much less fall asleep. 

Daehwi was about to rush forward, before Youngmin and Donghyun signalled to him not to. They didn’t want to scare Woong right now; the entire situation before them was scary enough. 

Woojin went to turn on the AC, setting the tteboki on the nearby table before returning to where Daehwi was, explaining to him to let their hyungs handle the situation.

Youngmin crouched down next to Woong, before gently shaking him awake. “Woong-ah, wake up. Look at me, can you hear me?” 

For the umpteenth time that night, something was off. 

Woong’s skin was too hot, his cheeks dusted a pale pink, and even in his sleep, he looked like he was shaking. 

‘Fever.’ Youngmin thought, as he placed his palm gently against Woong’s forehead. 

‘Fever.’ He confirmed, before mouthing the words to Donghyun who was next to him, his eyebrows furrowed with worry.

Suddenly, Woong stirred, blinking his vision into focus as he looked up. 

The sight that met the 4 of them broke their hearts. 

Woong’s eyes were red-rimmed, unfocused, and tear tracks stained his cheeks. He blinked, his movements slow and unsteady, before dragging his arm haphazardly across his face in attempts to wipe the sleep (and the tears) away.

“Ah, hyung.” Woong’s voiced cracked slightly, but none of them pointed it out. “Why are you guys back here?” Woong forced a smile, his signature eye smile. Youngmin doesn’t remember if Woong’s smile ever looked so fake. 

Youngmin steadied himself. “We were worried. It was getting late and you didn’t pick up your phone.” 

“Ah, is that so?” Woong replied. His thoughts seemed to stir awake at that very moment. ‘See, now you’ve made them worry. You really can’t do anything right.’

“You have a fever, did you know that?” Youngmin said matter of factly, looking straight into Woong’s eyes. The intensity of Youngmin’s gaze sent Woong reeling slightly, and as if realising what he just did, Youngmin softened his gaze. “Why didn’t you tell us if something was wrong?” He asked gently.

That made Woong feel guilty. 

“I’m sorry.” Woong apologised, lowering his gaze.

Youngmin sighed, before carefully pulling Woong into a hug, as if he would shatter right in his arms if he handled him too roughly. “We’re not mad, just worried.” Youngmin caressed Woong’s hair soothingly, as if that could make everything right again. “You’re important to us, we don’t want to lose you.” 

That seemed to set off another round of tears, as Woong buried himself into the crook of Youngmin’s neck, his hands fisted, grabbing his shirt. Youngmin doesn’t comment the tear stains on his shirt, nor the wetness he feels, merely stroking Woong’s hair in attempts to calm him down. 

This was going to be a long night.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed reading~ Sorry if it was long winded (and bad) haha... I'm deciding whether to make this story an OT5, or have a pairing for each subsequent chapter. Let me know what you think :)


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